Fermanagh returned to pitch training last week and manager Kieran Donnelly says that the focus is all on their opening Division Three game against Longford on Saturday January 28.

The provisional fixtures for Division Three sees Fermanagh have four home games and three away games with Donnelly acknowledging that it is likely to be a highly competitive league.

“We start with Longford at home Saturday January 28 and then we have Offaly away the next week and we’ll be focusing on that.

“We have the McKenna Cup again this year which is good as we will be fit to use it to look at players and boys want competitive games too to lead in then to league .

“I’m looking forward to the league but it is really a competitive Division Three with a lot of teams with good pedigree and teams who proved last year in their own championships that they can be competitive in their own right,” he said.

With pre-season underway, Donnelly is pleased to get back to work with the players in preparation for the new season.

“We gave most of the players two or three weeks off after the club championship because it was a very intense club season.

“We have a good squad together at the minute and we started well and trained well and are looking forward now to the competitive games coming after Christmas,” he said.

Donnelly has called up a number of new faces to the squad including Derrygonnelly duo Jack Kelly and Oisin Smyth, Fionan O’Brien (Devenish), Ryan Breen (Tempo), Diarmaid King (Newtownbutler), Conor McGee (Ederney), Eoghan McManus (Kinawley) and Tommy McCaffrey (Erne Gaels).

And the squad has been greatly boosted by the return of the Cullen twins Che and Lee. Che is already back in the squad while Lee will join up when he returns from Australia in the middle of December.

Donnelly has also to speak to a number of Enniskillen players to gage their interest in joining up with the squad.

“Conor McShea has been in doing S&C having been asked in earlier in the summer and I’ll give the other Gaels lads a bit of a break and I’ll then contact them individually to see who is interested in being involved with the county this year,” he added.

He is though happy with the new additions and feels there is good competition within the squad.

“Freshening things up is key within any squad, it makes it more competitive.

“There are players who have come in and have trained really, really well and other players then start to look over their shoulder and it adds to that competitiveness at training.

“We need competition, especially within a county squad when you are carrying 35 county players who all believe they are good enough to play, you need that level of competition to push it on,”said Donnelly.

Donnelly though will be without James McMahon and Lorcan McStravick who are both travelling while Kane Connor has retired.